Method and apparatus for selling subscriptions to periodicals in a retail environment

ABSTRACT

A system comprises a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, a POS controller, a retail subscription system. The POS terminal allows a cashier to enter subscription sales data into the POS controller. The POS controller maintains databases on available subscriptions and produces databases containing data relating to subscriptions sold to customers. The retail subscription system verifies the subscriptions by reference to its own databases and transmits the subscriptions to a fulfillment house for distribution.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.08/841,791, filed May 5, 1997, and issued Jul. 20, 1999 as U.S. Pat. No.5,926,711, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system for the distribution ofperiodicals. More particularly, the invention relates to a method andapparatus for facilitating the sale and fulfillment of a subscription toat least one periodical through retail channels.

2. Description of the Related Art

Each year, over one billion single-issue copies of magazines are soldthrough over 50,000 retail outlets in the United States. The cost of asingle issue, or the “cover price,” is often two or three times higherthan the pro rata price of a single issue through a subscription.Despite the higher prices, consumers are, willing to purchase singleissues from retail outlets because of convenience and timeliness.

Some consumers decide to forgo the advantages of newsstand copies andpurchase subscriptions to periodicals. For example, if a consumer wishesto subscribe to a magazine, the consumer may purchase a single issue ata retail outlet and mail back a “blow-in” or “bind-in” card enclosed inthe magazine issue. Publishers place blow-in subscription cards byloosely inserting the cards into periodicals, such as magazines, by airinjection. Publishers insert bind-in cards into the periodicals by, forexample, binding subscription cards into issues during the printingprocess. Publishers use these methods to sell subscriptions because ofthe potential profits earned thereon. Nevertheless, many inconveniencesarise from the traditional methodologies, which do not promote, and infact hinder, customers of single issues from subscribing to theperiodicals.

One such inconvenience involves lost sales to the retailer. Retailerscarry single-issue periodicals predominantly for impulse purchases.However, if a consumer purchases a single-issue periodical at a retailoutlet and then subscribes to the periodical by a blow-in or bind-incard, the retailer earns no additional revenue from the subscription. Inaddition, subscription cards contained in retail copies encourageconsumers to buy a subscription that deprives the retailer of potentialrevenue from future single-issue sales to that customer. Thus, retailershave no incentive to encourage purchasers of single issues to purchasesubscriptions.

Several other inconveniences affect the consumer. For example, theinitiation of a subscription by a blow-in or bind-in subscription cardrequires much time and patience on the part of the consumer. Such asubscription frequently takes weeks for processing. Indeed, federalrules require, when appropriate, that magazine publishers denote awaiting time disclaimer: “Allow 4-8 weeks for your first issue to bemailed.” In addition, due to processing and delivery delays, theconsumer may not actually receive the first issue of the magazine untiltwelve weeks from the date of subscription. The uncertainty of when thefirst issue of the subscription will arrive often results in missedissues. In addition, purchasing subscriptions using subscription cardscreates a risk of loss to the consumer because the consumer must depositthe subscription card in the mail, after which the consumer has norecord or invoice of the transaction.

Still other inconveniences for the consumer arise from the method ofpayment. Payment under the traditional subscription method constitutesan inconvenience for the consumer because the only way to enclosepayment with a blow-in or bind-in subscription card requires that theconsumer enclose the card and payment in an envelope with accompanyingpostage. Even if a toll-free number is provided for initiating thesubscription, the call itself inconveniences the consumer. Furthermore,if payment is not made at the time of ordering, a two-step process isrequired: first, the submission of the blow-in or bind-in card, andsecond, the payment of a bill. This two-step ordering process is notonly inefficient but also wastes the consumer's valuable time. In payingthe bill, moreover, the consumer must again correspond with the magazinepublisher, paying an invoice by check and returning the payment by mail.Due to processing and delivery delays, the consumer may even receivemultiple invoices of the bill, even though payment has already beenmade. These incidents of inefficiency not only inconvenience theconsumer and increase the costs and efforts of the magazine publisher,but also jeopardize the goodwill of the magazine in the consumer's mind.

Another inconvenience for the consumer regarding the method of paymentdeals with the inability to pay with cash. There is presently no readymeans for a consumer to subscribe to a periodical and pay with cash,except for the enclosure of cash in the mail. The transmittal of cash inthe mail, however, presents a threat of loss—even the United StatesPostal Service warns consumers against sending cash through the mail.This inconvenience is particularly meaningful because some consumers maynot wish to pay for a subscription to a controversial magazine by checkor credit card, as these forms of payment serve as records of thetransaction.

Still another inconvenience for the consumer in dealing with the methodof payment involves the cost of the initial single-issue periodical. Ifa consumer subscribes to a periodical by responding to a blow-in orbind-in subscription card, the consumer loses the benefit of paying thelower subscription price for the first issue. Normally, the consumerinitially purchases the single-issue periodical at full price, afterwhich he pays the discounted price for the subscription. Thus, even whenthe consumer chooses to subscribe to a periodical following asingle-issue purchase, the consumer always loses the initial investmentof the purchase price of the single issue.

Yet other inconveniences affect the periodical publishers. Under thetraditional subscription methodologies, publishers suffer reducedsubscription revenues from consumers who might have purchased asubscription at the time they purchased the single-issue periodical at aretail outlet. Because the sale of periodicals at retail outlets dependsprimarily upon impulse sales, the inability to initiate an instantaneoussubscription reduces subscription volume for periodical publishers.Also, outside the retail environment, a consumer may subscribe to aperiodical in response to direct correspondence or indirectsolicitations through the mail, telephonically, or through electronicmeans, such as e-mail. Nevertheless, under these circumstances, due toprocessing and mailing delays, the consumer still has no access to thecurrent issue of the periodical, and the publisher loses thesesingle-issue sales.

The prior art describes several attempts to address the inconveniencessurrounding the traditional subscription methodologies. One attemptinvolved the sale of gift subscriptions at retail outlets. The consumercould purchase a box containing a gift card to be sent to the recipient,a magazine activation card to be sent to a processing center, and theenvelopes for both sets of cards. The consumer would send the gift cardto the recipient and the activation card to a processing center. Theretailer would retain a percentage from the purchase price and remit thebalance of the payment to the processing center. Upon receipt of theactivation card from the consumer and the payment from the retailer, theprocessing center would take a percentage from the payment and forwardthe card and the balance of the payment to the magazine publisher.

This attempt fails to even address, much less overcome, theinconveniences associated with the traditional subscriptionmethodologies. For example, this attempt provided no solution for thelengthy processing time required by the traditional methodologies. Also,this attempt provided no mechanism by which the subscriber could receivethe current issue of the periodical as the first issue of thesubscription. Furthermore, even if the consumer purchased the currentissue concurrently with this attempt, the consumer would still notobtain the benefit of that issue in the subscription price.

Another attempt to overcome the inconveniences of the traditionalsubscription methodologies included the retail sale of subscriptions atbookstores. The subscriptions were offered as part of a shelf-displayedpackage placed on a hook. The consumer could purchase one of thepackages and subscribe to a periodical by paying for the package at theretail point-of-sale and then sending the pre-paid subscriptionactivation card to the fulfillment house. Still another attemptincorporated the sale of subscriptions at specialty subscription kiosks.These kiosks comprised a computer system utilizing touchscreentechnology to enable consumers to select and purchase either asubscription or a gift subscription. The customer could pay for eithertype of subscription at the kiosk by credit card, and the kiosk wouldissue a receipt for the transaction. For gift subscriptions, thesubscription kiosk would also dispense a gift card. For both types ofsubscriptions, the kiosks informed consumers of a four-to-eight weekdelay before the arrival of the first issue.

Again, none of these attempts solved the inconveniences of thetraditional subscription methodologies. These attempts both incorporatedsignificant delay due to processing requirements. Indeed, thesubscription kiosk attempt specified a four-to-eight week delay. Inaddition, none of these attempts allowed the consumer to receive thecurrent issue of the periodical with the subscription. Also, theattempts made no provision for a consumer to benefit from a subscriptionin the price of the current issue.

In all of the above attempts, significantly, the consumer never had theopportunity to purchase a single issue with the subscription, that is,where the subscription included the single issue in the price of thesubscription. Indeed, whether or not these attempts were transmittedthrough a processing center, they all comprised invoice orders for theinitiation of a simple subscription. As such, they all suffered at leastone common inconvenience associated with the traditional subscriptionmethodologies, namely, the inability to incorporate the current issue asthe first issue of a subscription. Additionally, as illustrated above,all the cited attempts also suffered other common inconveniences becausethey all resulted at least in the loss of a sale of the initial singleissue to the retail outlet and they all entailed significant processingdelay resulting in a customer not receiving the most current issue ofthe periodical.

Thus, the traditional methodologies for the subscription to periodicalsat retail locations give rise to unsatisfactory complications andinconveniences that discourage consumers from both purchasing a singleissue and subscribing to the periodical. Accordingly, there is a needfor a system that allows consumers to purchase a single issue and asubscription without the associated inconveniences caused by traditionalsubscription methodologies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a subscription method and systemthat eliminates problems due to the limitations and disadvantages of theprior art.

It is an object of the invention to allow a consumer to purchase asingle issue of a periodical as part of and along with a subscription ata retail outlet.

It is another object of the invention to allow a consumer to purchase asubscription to a periodical without missing the current issue of theperiodical or paying the full cover price for the current issue.

It is still another object of the invention to encourage sales ofsubscriptions and provide incentives to retailers to encourage sales ofsubscriptions.

It is a further object of the invention to allow a consumer to pay cashfor a subscription and provide the consumer with a receipt forpurchasing the subscription.

To achieve these and other objects, and in accordance with the purposesof the invention, as embodied and broadly described, one aspect of theinvention includes a method for establishing a subscription to aperiodical, comprising the steps of receiving a request to purchase asingle periodical, offering to sell a subscription to the periodical ata subscription rate, receiving an acceptance to the offer to sell asubscription, and providing the single periodical as the first issue ofthe subscription.

In another aspect, the invention includes a method for establishing asubscription to a periodical at a point-of-sale terminal, comprising thesteps of receiving at a point-of-sale terminal a single issue of aperiodical, receiving at the point-of-sale terminal a subscription cardrequesting a subscription to the periodical (the subscription cardcontaining a first set of subscription information), inputting into thepoint-of-sale terminal a second set of subscription information (thesecond set including subscription price and term), receiving payment forthe subscription, generating a receipt containing the subscription priceand term, and providing the single issue as the first issue of thesubscription.

In a further aspect, the invention includes a method for initiating asubscription to a periodical from a retail subscription system,comprising the steps of receiving a completed subscription cardindicating that a subscription to a periodical was sold (thesubscription card containing subscription information and anauthentication code), comparing the authentication code contained on thesubscription card with authentication codes stored in a database,determining that the authentication code contained on the subscriptioncard is valid if the authentication code contained on the subscriptioncard matches at least one of the authentication codes stored in thedatabase, and transmitting subscription information from thesubscription card to a fulfillment house to initiate the subscription ifthe authentication code on the subscription card is determined valid.

Additional aspects of the invention are disclosed and defined by theappended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescriptions and the following detailed descriptions are exemplary andexplanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of theinvention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention. These drawings are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate preferredembodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a retail subscription system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a point-of-sale terminal, as shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a point-of-sale controller, asshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a retail subscription system, asshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates a sample of the contents of the local subscriptiondatabase stored in the point-of-sale controller shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 illustrates a sample of the contents of the local authenticationcode database from the point-of-sale controller shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 illustrates a sample of the contents of the local sales databasefrom the point-of-sale controller shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 illustrates a sample of the contents of the subscriber databasefrom the retail subscription system shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 illustrates a sample of the contents of the authentication codedatabase from the retail subscription system shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for establishing asubscription through a retail channel, in accordance with a firstembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a sample of a subscription card utilized by themethod illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 illustrates a sample of a receipt generated by the methodillustrated in FIG. 10;

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate flow diagrams of a method for establishinga subscription through a retail channel, in accordance with a secondembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for establishing asubscription at the retail subscription system, in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for establishing asubscription at the fulfillment house, in accordance with one embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for processing thesubscription payment from the point-of-sale to the retail subscriptionsystem and then to the fulfillment house, in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Introduction

The system of the invention avoids the inconveniences of the prior artsubscription methodologies by integrating the sale of a subscriptionalong with the sale of a single-issue periodical at a retailer. In doingso, all parties benefit: the customer benefits from a discountedsubscription rate on both the single issue and the subscription, theretailer benefits by receiving greater profits for the sale of asubscription over the sale of a single issue, and the publisher benefitsby selling another subscription. The system is also useful to retailersbecause it generates additional sales with no additional inventory cost.

The system of the invention comprises several components including apoint-of-sale (POS) terminal, a POS controller, a retail subscriptionsystem, and a fulfillment house. The POS terminal allows a cashier toenter sales data, which is stored in the POS controller. The POScontroller maintains databases on the available subscriptions andproduces databases of the subscriptions sold to customers. The retailsubscription system serves as an agent or intermediary between the POSlocation and any fulfillment house. The retail subscription systemverifies the subscriptions by reference to its own databases and, ifvalid, transmits the subscriptions to the fulfillment house fordistribution.

System

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the system according to the invention. Inthis embodiment, system 100 includes POS terminal 120 attached to POScontroller 122 and printer 124. Customer 110, who is preferably aconsumer planning initially to purchase a single-issue periodical,transacts with a cashier at POS terminal 120 to purchase instead asubscription, and the cashier transacts in turn with retail subscriptionsystem 130. Retail subscription system 130 in turn transacts withfulfillment house 140. Fulfillment house 140 comprises a conventionalfulfillment house receiving subscription orders and filling them bydistributing (e.g., via mail) issues of periodicals.

Customer 110 may access customer assistance service 150 via traditionalcommunication techniques, such as a telephone or digital communicationchannel. Customer assistance service 150 is in communication, preferablyelectronic, with retail subscription system 130 such that it cantransmit requests for information to and receive requested informationfrom retail subscription system 130 substantially in real-time. Customer110 may utilize customer assistance service 150 to obtain answers toquestions involving a subscription.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of POS terminal 120 used in system 100shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, POS terminal 120 includes centralprocessing unit (CPU) 200, random access memory (RAM) 210, read-onlymemory (ROM) 220, at least one data input device 230, data storagedevice 240, display device 250, clock 260, communication port 270, andPOS network interface 280. Although printer 124 is illustrated in FIG. 1as a separate element of POS terminal 120, as illustrated in FIG. 2,printer 124 could also be incorporated into POS terminal 120 inalternative embodiments. POS terminal 120 basically functions as aconventional digital cash register equipped with the additionalfunctionality described herein.

As shown in FIG. 2, CPU 200 is directly coupled to each of the otherelements of POS terminal 120 with the exception of POS network interface280, which is coupled to communication port 270. CPU 200 executesprogram code (not shown) stored in one or more of RAM 210, ROM 220, anddata storage device 240 to carry out the functions and acts described inconnection with POS terminal 120. CPU 200 preferably comprises at leastone high-speed digital data processor adequate to execute programmodules consistent with the invention, such as periodical subscriptionquery, sale, and authentication, as well as conventional POS terminalfunctions. The processes performed by these modules are described inconnection with FIGS. 10-16. CPU 200 interacts with RAM 210, ROM 220,and storage device 240 to execute stored program code according toconventional data processing techniques.

Data input device 230 permits POS terminal 120 to receive subscriptioninformation about customer 110 and, although shown as a single device,may comprise one or more data input devices of various types, such as analphanumeric keyboard, a numeric keypad, a bar code scanner, a creditcard reader, a disk drive, a memory, an electronic communication line,and a wireless transceiver. Input device 230 preferably transmitsreceived information to CPU 200 for storage in data storage device 240.

Printer 124 comprises a conventional POS terminal printer suitable forprinting various paperwork, such as receipts, in accordance withinstructions from CPU 200. Display device 250 comprises a video driversending signals to a screen capable of displaying either text orgraphics under the control of CPU 200. Display device 250 is preferablylarge enough to display information relating to general sales, as wellas subscription sales, to the cashier. Communication port 270 links CPU200 with POS network interface 280 to allow CPU 200 to communicate withother POS devices, such as POS controller 122.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of POS controller 122 used in system100. POS controller 122 preferably comprises a server equipped withconventional hardware, including CPU 310, RAM 320, ROM 330, data storagedevice 340, clock 350, communications port 360, data network interface370, and POS network interface 380. In general, elements of POScontroller 122 common to POS terminal 120 preferably operate insubstantially the same manner as described above.

Because POS controller 122 may service one or more POS terminals, POSnetwork interface 380 is preferably capable of interfacing with one ormore POS terminals.

Data network interface 370 allows POS controller 122 to interface withother data networks. In one embodiment, data network interface 370 linksPOS controller 122 with retail subscription system 130 to facilitateelectronic communication. In alternative embodiments, POS controller 122does not include data network interface 370 so that systems and networksother than POS terminals linked to POS network interface 380 are unableto access POS controller 122. In these alternative embodiments,communication between POS controller 122 and retail subscription system130 could occur by physical delivery, such as the mail.

Data storage device 340 preferably comprises a large capacity memorycapable of maintaining local subscription database 342, localauthentication code database 344, and local sales database 346. Localsubscription database 342 contains data pertaining to the periodicals towhich subscriptions are available at the POS terminal location. Localauthentication code database 344 contains a table of authenticationcodes available for verifying subscription sales. Local sales database346 comprises a listing of information relating to subscription sales.In a preferred embodiment, data contained in one or more of thesedatabases 342, 344, and 346 may be periodically updated by transferringthe updated data to POS controller 122 via disk, input device, orelectronic transmission. Samples of the records and their respectivefields contained in databases 342, 344, and 346 are shown in anddescribed in connection with FIGS. 5-7.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of retail subscription system 130 usedin the system shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4, retail subscriptionsystem 130 includes CPU 410, RAM 420, ROM 430, data storage device 440,clock 450, communications port 470, data network interface 480, andcustomer assistance service interface 490. Again, elements of retailsubscription system 130 common to POS terminal 120 or POS controller 122preferably operate in substantially the same manner as described above.

Communication port 470 links retail subscription system 130 with datanetwork interface 480, which interfaces system 130 to external networks.In a preferred embodiment, one such external network is POS controller122. Customer assistance service interface 490 preferably interfacesretail subscription system 130 with customer assistance service 150. Inthis embodiment, customer assistance service interface 490 providesaccess to customer assistance service 150 at retail subscription system130.

Data storage device 440 maintains retail subscription system (RSS)subscriber database 442 and retail subscription system authenticationcode (RSSAC) database 444. RSS subscriber database 442 storessubscription information transmitted from the retailer. RSSAC database444 contains a list of authentication codes used to validatesubscription sales. Authentication code generator 460 generates theauthentication codes, which preferably represent unique alphanumericidentifiers. In a preferred embodiment, authentication code generator460 includes a pseudo-random number generator used to select a sequenceof alphanumeric characters having a predetermined length. Samples of therecords and their respective fields contained in RSS subscriber database442 and RSSAC database 444 are shown in and described in connection withFIGS. 8 and 9.

Database Formats

Samples of the contents of local subscription database 342, localauthentication code database 344, local sales database 346, RSSsubscriber database 442, and RSSAC database 444 are shown in FIGS. 5-9.The specific data and fields illustrated in these figures represent onlyone embodiment of the records stored in the databases of the invention.In most cases, the fields shown in FIGS. 5-9 are relativelystraightforward and self-explanatory. The data and fields of thesedatabases, as well as the number of databases, can be readily modifiedfrom the described embodiment, for example, to include more or fewerdata fields.

Local subscription database 342 maintained in POS controller 122contains a listing of information relating to periodicals to whichcustomer 110 may obtain a subscription at a retailer (e.g., POS terminal120). FIG. 5 illustrates a sample of the contents of local subscriptiondatabase 342. As shown in FIG. 5, local subscription database 342contains records having fields corresponding to, for example, the nameof the periodical, the term of subscription, and the price of thesubscription. As depicted in FIG. 5, the listing of periodicals maycontain different records relating to the same periodical, each recordhaving a different subscription term and price.

Local authentication code database 344 contains a listing ofauthentication codes available for use by POS controller 122 forsubscription sales. Each authentication code preferably comprises aunique alphanumeric identifier of a predetermined length, though thecode length could vary in alternative embodiments. FIG. 6 illustrates asample of the contents of local authentication code database 344. Asshown in FIG. 6, local authentication code database 344 contains a listof authentication codes, which may be contained in a single or multiplerecords.

Local sales database 346 maintains a log of information relating to thesubscriptions ordered by customers, such as customer 110. FIG. 7illustrates a sample of the contents of local sales database 346. Asshown in FIG. 7, local sales database 346 contains records having fieldscorresponding to, for example, date, sales receipt number, subscriptiontitle, subscription price, term of the subscription in months, theamount owed to the wholesaler for the cost of a single issue, and theamount owed to retail subscription system 130 for the cost of asubscription. These last two fields describe the difference between thesubscription price and the amount of money retained by the point-of-salelocation. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, if the price of thesubscription is $20, and if the cost of the single issue is $2, and ifthe cost of the subscription is $10, then the point-of-sale locationretains $8 from the subscription price (i.e., the subscription pricecharged the customer less the cost of the single issue remitted to thewholesaler and less the cost of the subscription remitted to the retailsubscription system). For all of these fields, from the data in thisdatabase as well as the data stored in other databases (e.g., localsubscription database 342), the data for the corresponding fields can bereadily calculated. Additionally, the designated fields may be appendedfor greater functionality. For example, the records stored in localsales database 346 could be modified to contain additional fields, suchas subscriber name and subscriber address.

The use of data from local subscription database 342, localauthentication code database 344, and local sales database 346 allowsPOS controller 122 to process subscriptions from POS terminals 120 asdescribed below.

Upon receiving subscription information from POS controller 122, retailsubscription system 130 places the information in subscriber database442. FIG. 8 illustrates a sample of the contents of subscriber database442. As shown in FIG. 8, subscriber database 442 contains records havingfields corresponding to, for example, the store identification number,date, subscriber name, subscriber address, periodical name, term ofsubscription, authentication code, and number of issues remaining in thesubscription. In one embodiment, an operator at retail subscriptionsystem 130 receives completed subscription cards corresponding to paidsubscriptions and enters information from the subscriptions cards intoretail subscription system 130. In an alternative embodiment, POScontroller 122 electronically transmits subscription information viadata network interface 370 to retail subscription system 130 via datanetwork interface 480.

RSSAC database 444 contains information allowing retail subscriptionsystem 130 to verify the authenticity of the authentication codestransmitted by POS controller 122. FIG. 9 illustrates a sample of thecontents of RSSAC database 444. As shown in FIG. 9, RSSAC database 444contains records having fields corresponding to, for example, storeidentification number and authentication codes. Each storeidentification number is preferably associated with a different retailerand is assigned a plurality of authentication codes. In one embodiment,RSSAC database 444 indexes the stored authentication codes by storeidentification number. Retail subscription system 130 can thereforeverify the authenticity of an authentication code transmitted from POScontrollers 122 by comparing the received authentication code with thecontents of RSSAC database 444.

The use of data from subscriber database 442 and RSSAC database 444allows retail subscription system 130 to process subscriptionstransmitted from POS controller 122 and verify the subscription sales.

Process

In providing a subscription to a periodical in response to a sale of asingle issue, the system shown and described in connection with FIG. 1preferably executes several distinct modules, or processes. Theseprocesses include facilitating the sale of a subscription at a POSterminal location, transmitting subscription information to a retailsubscription system, and transmitting subscription information to afulfillment house. The steps associated with these processes aredescribed in connection with FIGS. 10-16 and can be performed in anyorder, unless otherwise specified or dictated by the steps themselves.

One embodiment of the sale of a subscription at a POS location involvesa series of steps illustrated in the flow diagram of FIG. 10. After acustomer 110 selects a single issue of a periodical for purchase, acashier at POS terminal 120 queries customer 110 as to whether customer110 desires to purchase a subscription to that periodical (step 1010).If customer 110 declines the subscription, the cashier at POS terminal120 proceeds with a conventional sale of the single issue (step 1015).If customer 110 accepts a subscription, customer 110 completes asubscription card, which customer 110 returns to the cashier at POSterminal 120 (step 1020). Customer 110 preferably obtains a subscriptioncard from within the single issue (i.e., a blow-in card or a bind-incard). Alternatively, the cashier may provide a comparable subscriptioncard to customer 110.

FIG. 11 illustrates a sample subscription card. This sample subscriptioncard contains a space for the subscriber's name, the subscriber'saddress, and the term of the subscription, as shown in FIG. 11. Thesample subscription card may also contain the price for the term ofsubscription and may indicate alternative terms of subscription andprices.

Upon receiving the completed subscription card, the cashier at POSterminal 120 verifies that customer 110 correctly filled out thesubscription card and imprints a validation mark on the subscriptioncard (step 1030). The validation mark may include, for example, thesignature of the cashier on the subscription card, a store stamp, aspecial label, a marking from printer 124, or any other indiciaindicating that the consumer has paid for the subscription.

Following validation, the cashier at POS terminal 120 scans a bar codeon the single issue using a bar code reader connected to POS terminal120. By scanning the single issue, POS terminal 120 captures theidentification of the periodical title and the single-issue pricepursuant to the Uniform Produce Code (UPC), or bar code, located on theperiodical issue (step 1040). To indicate the selection of asubscription, the cashier at POS terminal 120 presses a preprogrammedkey on POS terminal 120 to indicate that the sale of a subscription hasoccurred and to obtain an authentication code (step 1050). POS terminal120 may download a plurality of authentication codes from localauthentication code database 344 and temporarily store them in datastorage device 240 to be accessed, or alternatively, POS terminal 120may request an authentication code from POS controller 122 after thepreprogrammed key has been pressed. Following the indication of asubscription, POS terminal 120 displays a query to the cashierrequesting information about the subscription term and price, which thecashier enters into POS terminal 120 (step 1060). At this or a latertime, the cashier may insert the subscription card into printer 124 tohave the authentication code imprinted on it. The cashier at POSterminal 120 collects the price for the subscription from customer 110and causes printer 124 to print a receipt with the authentication code(step 1070). Customer 110 pays for the subscription in the same manneras any retail purchase, such as cash, credit card, personal check, orother form of credit or payment. The cashier at POS terminal 120 thendelivers the printed receipt to customer 110 (step 1080).

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of this receipt, which contains certainsubscription information. The subscription information includes anauthentication code and customer service information, including an 800customer service number. In an alternative embodiment, the cashier atPOS terminal 120 provides customer 110 with a preprinted card indicatingthe authentication number and customer service information.

FIGS. 13A-13B illustrate a flow diagram representing another embodimentfor establishing a subscription pursuant to a single-issue sale. In thisembodiment, POS terminal 120 is in continuous electronic communicationwith POS controller 122. Customer 110 selects a single issue of aperiodical and gives the periodical to the cashier at POS terminal 120for purchase (step 1310). The cashier at POS terminal 120 scans thesingle issue to collect data from the UPC code, or bar code (step 1315).POS terminal 120 transmits the bar code data to POS controller 122 todetermine whether a subscription is available for the periodicalassociated with the bar code data (step 1320). If not, the cashierproceeds with a conventional single-issue sale (step 1335). If asubscription is available, POS controller 122 sends a periodicalsubscription upsell query to POS terminal 120 (step 1325). That is, POSterminal 120 displays on display device 250 of POS terminal 120 amessage informing the cashier that a subscription is available for theperiodical. Pursuant to this prompt, the cashier at POS terminal 120asks customer 110 whether he desires a subscription to the periodical(step 1330). If the customer responds in the negative, the cashier atPOS terminal 120 proceeds with a conventional single-issue sale (step1335).

Continuing on FIG. 13B, if the customer responds affirmatively, thecashier at POS terminal 120 requests that customer 110 complete asubscription card, which the customer may obtain from the single-issueperiodical or from the cashier (step 1340). After customer 110 hascompleted the subscription card, the cashier at POS terminal 120 inputsinto POS terminal 120 the subscription term and price from thesubscription card (step 1345). POS terminal 120 then transmits dataindicating the sale of a subscription to POS controller 122, and POScontroller 122 retrieves an authentication code for the sale from localauthentication code database 344 (step 1350).

POS controller 122 records subscription information in local salesdatabase 346 and transmits the subscription information, including theauthentication code and customer service telephone number, to POSterminal 120 (step 1355). At this or a later time, the cashier at POSterminal 120 may insert the subscription card into printer 124 to havethe authentication code imprinted on it. The cashier at POS terminal 120then collects the amount due for the subscription from customer 110(step 1360). Upon indication of payment to POS terminal 120, printer 124prints a receipt for the transaction, which the cashier delivers tocustomer 110 (step 1365). As in the previous embodiment described inconnection with FIG. 12, the receipt includes an authentication code andcustomer service information.

FIG. 14 illustrates a process for retail subscription system 130. Acashier at POS terminal 120 collects subscription information over apredetermined time period, such as, for example, on a daily or weeklybasis (step 1400). At the end of this period, the retailer transmits thesubscription information to retail subscription system 130 (step 1410).As discussed above, this may be done by bundling subscription cardscompleted by customers purchasing subscriptions over the course of apredetermined time period and mailing the bundle of subscription cardsto retail subscription system 130. Alternatively, this may be doneelectronically, such as, for example, over a modem. Upon receiving thesubscription information, retail subscription system 130 checks theauthenticity of the authentication code associated with eachsubscription sale (step 1420). As described above, retail subscriptionsystem 130 validates authentication codes by comparing theauthentication codes sent with the subscription information with theauthentication codes stored in RSSAC database 444.

If the authentication code is invalid, retail subscription system 130rejects the subscription as invalid (step 1440). If the authenticationcode is valid (step 1430), retail subscription system 130 accepts thesubscription and enters the subscription information into subscriberdatabase 442 (step 1450). After a predetermined time, retailsubscription system 130 transmits information contained in subscriberdatabase 442 to fulfillment house 140 (step 1460).

FIG. 15 illustrates a fulfillment process of the invention. Inaccordance with this fulfillment process, fulfillment house 140 receivessubscription information transmitted from retail subscription system 130(step 1510). Upon receipt of the subscription information, fulfillmenthouse 140 creates, or modifies, a record in a subscription database(step 1520). Fulfillment house 140 then determines from the datacontained within the subscription database whether a single issue of thesubscription was delivered during the sale of the subscription (step1530). If not, fulfillment house 140 processes a conventionalsubscription (step 1540). If so, fulfillment house 140 instructs thesubscription database to deliver the normal number of subscriptionissues less one issue (step 1550). Additionally, fulfillment house 140transmits to the publisher of the periodical the subscriptioninformation relating to customer 110 to update circulation numbers(1560).

FIG. 16 illustrates a process for transacting and tracking asubscription payment in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.This process includes the transaction of a payment from a POS terminallocation, to a retail subscription system, and to a fulfillment house.In accordance with this payment process, a cashier at POS terminal 120collects payment for a subscription from customer 110 based upon thesubscription price (step 1610). From this subscription payment, theretailer at the POS terminal location pays the cost of the single issueto the wholesaler (step 1620). From the remainder of the subscriptionpayment, the retailer then retains a percentage and, based on the sametime period for the transmittal of subscription information, remits thebalance of the payment to retail subscription system 130 (step 1630).From the balance of the subscription payment remitted to retailsubscription system 130, retail subscription system 130 retains apercentage and correspondingly remits the balance to fulfillment house140 (step 1640). In alternative embodiments, payment collected at POSterminal 120 for the sale of a subscription may be distributed among thedifferent parties according to predetermined methodologies.

Conclusion

The system of the invention provides for the retail sale ofsubscriptions to periodicals. This system provides for the sale ofsubscriptions in a retail environment, where a customer has initiatedthe purchase of a single issue of a periodical. This subscriptionmethodology provides many advantages over the traditional subscriptionmethodologies.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the system and processes ofthe present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover allmodifications and variations of the invention within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of establishing a subscription to aperiodical, comprising: receiving a request to purchase an issue of aperiodical at a retail point of sale; determining if a subscription tothe periodical is available for purchase at the retail point of sale; ifa subscription is available for purchase at the retail point of sale,offering to sell the subscription to the periodical at a subscriptionrate; receiving an acceptance to the offer to sell a subscription; andproviding the issue of the periodical as the first issue of thesubscription.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a request topurchase further comprises: inputting a periodical identifier at theretail point of sale.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining if asubscription to the periodical is available further comprises: comparingthe periodical identifier with a set of stored periodical identifiershaving subscriptions available.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving an acceptance to the offer includes: receiving a completedsubscription card from a customer.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: associating an authentication code with the subscription. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein the authentication code is printed on areceipt produced for the transaction.
 7. The method of claim 5, whereinthe receipt further includes a customer service number.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: receiving payment for thesubscription.
 9. An apparatus for selling a subscription, comprising: amemory storing a program; a processor in communication with the memory,in which the processor is directed by the program to: receive a requestto purchase an issue of a periodical at a retail point of sale;determine if a subscription to the periodical is available for purchaseat the retail point of sale; if a subscription is available for purchaseat the retail point of sale, offer to sell the subscription to theperiodical at a subscription rate; receive an acceptance to the offer tosell a subscription; and provide the issue of the periodical as thefirst issue of the subscription.
 10. An apparatus for selling asubscription, comprising: means for receiving a request to purchase anissue of a periodical at a retail point of sale; means for determiningif a subscription to the periodical is available for purchase at theretail point of sale, and if a subscription is available for purchase atthe retail point of sale, means for offering to sell the subscription tothe periodical at a subscription rate; means for receiving an acceptanceto the offer to sell a subscription; and means for providing the issueof the periodical as the first issue of the subscription.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for receiving a request topurchase further comprises: means for inputting a periodical identifierat the retail point of sale.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein themeans for determining if a subscription to the periodical is availablefurther comprises: means for comparing the periodical identifier with aset of stored periodical identifiers having subscriptions available. 13.The method of claim 10, wherein the means for receiving an acceptance tothe offer includes: means for receiving a completed subscription cardfrom a customer.
 14. The method of claim 10, further comprising: meansfor associating an authentication code with the subscription.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the authentication code is printed on areceipt produced for the transaction.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the receipt further includes a customer service number.
 17. Themethod according to claim 10, further comprising: means for receivingpayment for the subscription.